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DeMint: I can do more on outside than inside

Gang of Eight push for supermajority - Mike Allen reports

The legislative slog starts this week, when the Senate Judiciary Committee begins marking up the bill. There will be no shortage of obstacles in what will be the chief policy battle on Capitol Hill this year, and any one factor could complicate the fragile path toward immigration reform.

These key players and how they handle the immigration debate strategically could make the difference between a bill that reaches President Barack Obama’s desk and a legislative death like the last effort six years ago.

The former South Carolina GOP senator and tea party hero took over last month as president of the 40-year-old conservative think tank, and got straight to work. He has blasted the Gang of Eight’s proposal as “amnesty,” criticized negotiators for drafting the bill in secret and is trying to highlight the bill’s potential costs if millions of undocumented immigrants are made eligible for federal benefits.

If DeMint and Heritage — with its policy analyses and feisty advocacy arm — can help keep the right unified on immigration, it could force Democrats and the White House to accept amendments they don’t like in order to get something through — or simply kill the bill.

Heritage has been here before. The group helped sink previous immigration efforts by focusing on costs. Senior research fellow Robert Rector released a study in 2007 saying that immigration legislation could cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion.

But Heritage is getting pushback from conservatives and economists on both sides who say that adding millions of new taxpayers and streamlining the legal immigration process will spur growth and benefit the economy.

Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin authored a study released last month arguing that immigration reform would boost GDP per capita by more than $1,500 and slash more than $2.5 trillion from the cumulative federal deficit.

“I believe that free markets lead to economic growth and prosperity for all,” Norquist said on Capitol Hill last week. “This includes free and flexible labor markets, which will benefit not only those who wish to come here to pursue the American dream but also those of us blessed enough to have been born in the United States of America.”

2. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)

The House Judiciary Committee chairman will oversee that chamber’s pathway to immigration reform, and he has outlined an approach that, so far, sets up a procedural — and philosophical — clash with the Senate.

In a Republican Conference that stresses regular order, Goodlatte’s step-by-step, take-it-slow strategy will be key. Last month, he unveiled two conservative-friendly measures: a temporary agricultural guest worker bill and an E-Verify requirement for employers.

He promises there’s more to come but hasn’t committed to any timetables. He also does not personally support what he calls a “special” pathway to citizenship. Ensuring eventual citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants is a marquee priority of Democrats and a critical component of the Gang of Eight’s plan.